The Riftwar Cycle: The Demonwar Saga Book 2 (26) - At the Gates of Darkness [Paperback]

Sorry but I was really disappointed by this novel, given the fact I borrowed it from my local library for free I am baffled as to why I feel I have been ripped off.... but I do feel that way, and my sympathies go out to anyone who has paid anything like the full asking price for this piece of waffle. I really quiet enjoyed the 1st novel in this duology, yes it was a bit slow and nothing really happened, but it was crammed full of exposition, back ground bumf and a feel of menace about bad things coming to Midkemia. It was a perfect set up novel for a new series of novels, with a bit of a shocking twist at the end; basically it did the trick of whetting my appetite for this and subsequent novels.

However the pay off that should have been delivered in this novel just didn't happen, and not only did it not happen but neither did anything else really, and even then lots of little things are just plain daft, unbelievable, inconsistent and or wrong. Pug goes from grief to some whinny little emo toddler who has occasional flashes of angst that are forgotten about the instant anything important needs to be done. Magnus is as 2D as ever, as are many of the supporting cast, Sandrenna seems more upset at a holiday romance gone wrong than she does about the guy who pimped her out as a 'young girl' and then sold her into sexual slavery. We have a Illusionist who suddenly becomes a Conjurer, maybe that came with the amnesia that had said magic user forget that had opened/used rifts in the previous novel. We have a sudden 'deus ex machina' book introduced that reveals on going plot, but no real thought is given into who/how this book was created, nevermind the poor plot devices that were used to get the book into Pug and co's hands (personally I think Feist turned in a manuscript that was a couple of chapters short so went back and wrote this story in afterwards just to pad out a rather sparse novel). Lets not forget characters who change name, the handy armies ready for call at a moments notice (apparently without their commanders even noticing they went fought demons and presumably died in significant numbers), the worlds most powerful man and his reluctance to do anything.

I suppose what makes me most angry about this novel is the fact that Feist can still write compelling books (Rides a Dread Legion proved that to me), when he bothers he can create compelling characters, his has a flair for action that is understated (in comparison to some other authors) but still thrilling... Its just that as he has done so often he has turned in a half baked book and his editors have let it slide and his publishers have published knowing that us fans will not be able to stop ourselves from buying and reading Mr Feist's new novels.

Personally I wish Feist would give the whole 'Magician universe' a rest and go and write a book or 3 in a completely new universe and get some of his flair back and then come and bring what is still one of the best multi-book sagas to a fitting conclusion.

The only reason you would read this book is if you're a long time Feist fan. If you're not then you're missing out on 28 years of continuity, characterisation and story so head back to the start. If you're a long time Feist fan you'll more than likely be aware of the drop in length of his books since the end of the Serpant War Saga. This continues here with a book even shorter than its predecessors; scraping in at just over 300 pages. A shorter length, however, doesn't mean a poorer quality book, just that you'll be getting less than normal. This is the second, and last book, of the Demonwar Saga, and considering the first book (Rides a Dread Legion) felt like the first third of a story (all set up and exposition with little, if any payoff) you know there's a lot to cover in this shorter book.

The plot details the hunt for Belasco, brother of Sidi, and the Conclave of Shadow's attempts to stop him from raising Demons, in particular a demon named Dahun, and bringing about the destruction of Midkemia. All in all, pretty standard fare at this point in Midkemia history. However it's the characters we've come to know and love which keeps fans reading. But ultimately these characters are done growing. There is little in the way of characterisation in this book; the two Taredhel brothers introduced in the first book don't do much, they are simply reacting to things throughout. Their history is not drawn upon to create any dialogue; most of the time they merely ending up pointing at the next plot point and saying "What's that?" "Let's check it out." and then discovering some piece of Deus Ex Machina. Sandreena, a Knight Adament introduced in Rides a Dread Legion, is given the only thing which could amount to character development in the book. However her turn from distrusting men (save a few in her Order) due to her treatment as a child and teen, to trusting the (thanks to the death of Miranda) all male Conclave of Shadows comes after finding out that her entire life has been manipulated by half of the people in the top echelon of the Conclave. It seems ridiculously quick and thrown in because Feist ran out of space at the end of the book and needed the Status Quo to be maintained.

The primary characters fare worse; Pug, left reeling after the death of his wife Miranda, now fears for the safety of Magnus, his son. This does not stop him throwing Magnus into fights, or indeed alter his decisions at all, thus making Miranda's death feel like nothing more than a cheap shock tactic. Magnus, unfortunately, came into the books as they were being shortened and thus has never had much in the way of a character to begin with. We are told, again, that he is cold and impersonal, because of an incident as a young man with a woman. However, this is still left undeveloped and his character continues to feel like simply a tool; he helps Pug win battles against demons to show how strong the demons are, but doesn't really do anything himself.

Possibly the most annoying moment in the book comes when Tomas shows up, in Elvandar. Once again he says he's the most powerful being on the planet, and that only Pug can beat him, but once again he does absolutely nothing. At all. It's in all actuality a cameo appearance which does absolutely nothing to forward the action, the suspense, the plot or the characters involved in the scene.

The writing is poor, made all the worse when you remember how experienced Feist is at writing. In describing the demon Dahun, Feist uses the exact same description three times in the book. The gore present in At The Gates of Darkness is banal, never really shocking since Feist sticks to describing the deaths of characters we never learn anything about; they are simply described by race. Also, if Feist can't tell the difference between your and you're, then there's hope for every fourteen year old on YouTube to get published. Perhaps the most shocking piece comes during the introduction of plot device/character Keandar the dwarf. He appears in two chapters in the book, but the second time he's called Kendra. When the writer can't keep track of character names you know you're in serious trouble.

I wondered at the end if Feist has an editor anymore. Probably not considering how many books he's sold, but even still someone along the way must have read this prior to publication, someone must have noticed the inconsistencies, the at times poor grammar, the lack of any characterisation... if they did, they didn't say anything. This, combined with the short length, makes for a boring, at times painful, but short read.

There's not a lot more to say about this book. Fans of the series will not doubt want it, mostly just to see how the story ends and what happens to the characters we've been reading about for over twenty years. All I can say to you is don't buy this book, get it from a library, or simply read the plot summary online. Aside from one tiny semi-development on the nature of demons, there's nothing worth reading here, even for the hardest Feist fan.

*Contains mild spoilers*

Readers of Feist's early works will be used to rich, layered plots which immerse them in his fantastically verdant worlds. They will be used to lovable characters; dramatic, mysterious villains; epic battles and thrilling conclusions. It rather seems, though, that Feist has grown weary of all this.

The book reads rather like the first compilation of the author's notes, complete with annoying grammatical errors such as 'you're' instead of 'your' and 'it's' rather than 'its' (and vice versa). What Feist's four editors were doing is anyone's guess--slacking off, by the look of things! What with the constant 'reminding' references to past actions and events, it felt somewhat that Feist was overwhelmed by his own back-history; that everything of interest had already been written about in earlier novels. I have the feeling that on the one hand Feist is trying to bow out of his fantasy world, but that on the other he's raking in as much revenue as possible before he calls it a day.

At times, the story is laborious, like when Pug and co. are talking to the Ishapian monks, and there are some rather turgid (and largely irrelevant) details about who discovered what from whom; other times there are events which deserve more story-telling, but which are quickly hashed out, viz. the great demonic battle towards the end of the book.

Another reviewer argued that Pug's mourning for his recently murdered wife is a little unconvincing, and I am forced to agree. Although it is continually pointed out that Pug understands his fate is to watch all his loved ones die before him, I don't think it perverse to expect a little more grief from him--Miranda's death is often treated more as an uncomfortable truth, than as a source of great pain (which presumably it is).

But, despite the peripheral story-telling, and the occasional character undermining, the story was not all that bad. The sub-plot of Gulamendis and Laromendis, the Star-Elf misfits, escaping from demon-infested worlds was quite engaging, and there was some nice character interaction between Amirantha and Sandreena. One reason that the story occasionally felt sketchy was that the magic users kept teleporting round the place, so there wasn't much opportunity for interaction with minor characters.

The main reason I felt disgruntled after finishing the book is that Feist doesn't properly conclude. Although there is some explanation as to who caused what at the end, it is stipulated, and I quote, '"There's something else behind all of this, a deeper cause of all the troubles that have visited this world since before any of us were born."'(p. 322) How frustrating is that?! Who is it this time, Feist? The Valheru again? The Trickster god? The Nameless One? Perhaps Feist doesn't know; perhaps he doesn't care any more, but it's starting to get annoying.

It's not unreasonable to want some proper, solid, answers, especially when At the Gates of Darkness is the final volume in the Demonwar saga. My request to Feist is that he finish off this ongoing epic; let Pug's prophecy take effect, and give his devoted readers their rightful due: a fully worked out resolution.